RECIPE WEDNESDAY - Surf n Turf

For me, the only thing better than all-you-can-eat lobster or crab legs is to combine seafood with a good steak. 

When it comes to portion sizes at a restaurant, they are way more than you need to eat at one sitting. Bob and I like to go out for a good steak and I'm slowly training him that because it's on his plate, doesn't mean he has to eat it all in one sitting. I have always cut my steak in half and packaged one portion up right away then enjoying the other half with my meal. With Bob gone, I can bring mine home to the freezer and enjoy a good steak while he's gone without having to leave home - or eat alone in a restaurant. That doesn't really bother me, I just like to have a conversation if I'm out in public. At home, I can enjoy a movie. 

That's what I did with this meal:

I started with the salad... greens cut from my own little garden. Well, to be clear, this salad bowl came pre-planted from Menards garden center with five different lettuce, a parsley and chives - for under $6! All I had to add was a diced tomato and a drizzle of blue cheese dressing.

Next, I thawed out a package of medium shrimp. I buy the $6 bag from Walmart then package them in portions using my Foodsaver. This allows me to thaw out a small amount for me when Bob is gone without disturbing the temperature of the rest of a large bag.

I put the steak in the toaster oven to reheat while I put the shrimp into a skillet with a bit of butter, then added some of the Teriyaki glaze, tossing to get all of that sweet/ tangy flavor on every bit of the shrimp quickly without overheating them. 

A quick, easy dinner for one that could have easily been a leftover for both of us by adding Bob's steak portion and another package of the shrimp. Bob would have passed on the salad, having cottage cheese instead.

How do you handle the large portions from restaurants? Do you have a favorite way of stretching that doggy bag at home?

Whatever you do, Enjoy the Journey!

RECIPE WEDNESDAY - Shrimp Salad

Another Pinterest discovered recipe for you but this one I modified ahead of time. Due in part to not having a couple of ingredients and part because they are seasonings I use in almost anything.

The Quick and Easy Shrimp Salad recipe came from Erren's Kitchen.

Erren did choose to use fresh shrimp, which she prepared because they tend to have a bit more 'crunch' to them as opposed to the precooked/ thawed version. Due to the fact that I waited too long to prepare this and was past dinner time, I opted for the quick thaw of the pre-cooked. The cat was happy as he always gets a shrimp for his very own :-D  She also used fresh Dill, Mustard Powder and lemon juice. I am not a fan of lemon juice on ANY seafood so I skipped that one. I didn't have fresh Dill but did have dried and no mustard powder. But I did use Onion powder and Seasoning Salt.

Her recipe called for #2 of shrimp. I had a 12 oz bag, which since I was only cooking for one, I divided the package between to meals/ blog posts.

I think I got a bit heavy on the mayo. I've tasted the final product and it's okay - just a bit over mayo'd.. which I expected. I've covered the dish and put it in the fridge for the flavors to meld and that will be lunch tomorrow. (this post was written and scheduled on 7/13/15)

I may wind up scraping part of the mayo out of the way and plan to either put in Romain Lettuce boats or eat by itself. 

REGAINING CONTROL - a step forward

Okay, I never really lost control. Not of eating, anyway. Just my time.

From the time summer hit I've never gained a solid foothold in any aspect of my life. There seems to have been a constant string of 'occurrences' I couldn't do anything about. As I look at the contents of my bedroom, including my bed, overtaking the living room and dining room, National Novel Writing Month looming on the horizon followed by the holidays and guests from Poland I have to wonder. WHEN?

Well, WHEN? is NOW!

So I'm back and planning to get back on course with multiple things.
1) Blogging - I've put together my Blog Planner for 2014.

I spent time studying what I wanted to accomplish in the new year and the best way to track my activities for tax purposes as well as all my avenues of promotion. You can read the full description of the Blog Planner on my Creative Dreams blog. 

Although I've watched what I ate, I also found myself listening to other people and got into trouble. The only thing I use any sweetener for (Splenda is my chosen alternative) is my iced tea. I tried to eliminate the 'fake' stuff and instead switched to a 1/4 tsp. of sugar in a tall iced tea. That was the ONLY change to my diet. In two weeks I gained 5 pounds! I was at my heaviest weight EVER of 191 pounds. Oh so NOT going to happen! I've since dropped the use of sugar in brewed tea. I still use a packet of Splenda in the instant iced tea. But I've also found I don't need the Splenda in my coffee. 

In addition I'm trying to remind myself to eat more veggies. I buy stuff for salads but unless I eat salad 2x a day every day, the stuff spoils on me. I have a hard enough time trusting lettuce after so many issues with contaminates in the past couple of years. Walmart now offers salad kits in their produce section. The bottom part of the bowl is a serving of ice berg lettuce (okay, not my first choice since I was introduced to Spring Mix. The top tray looks like a paw print. Each 'pad' is filled with a salad additive based on the type of salad you choose. The Cob has chopped bacon, julienne turkey ( might be ham), chopped hard boiled egg. A separate smaller bowl contains salad dressing. I love how everything is sealed tight and clearly marked with an expiration date. Since my nearest SuperCenter is almost an hour one direction, this lets me see at a glance how many I can purchase for the week without risking spoilage. And after I've worked a 12-hour day, opening one of these and mixing everything together is more tempting that fixing a full-blown salad from scratch. My granddaughter, Adrian, has started me on grape tomatoes. I pick up a bowl of these when I purchase the salads. When time to eat, I wash 6 - 8 or them, cut them in half and add them to the salad. No more rotten tomatoes on the counter.

Tomorrow, weather permitting, I'll talk about my current exercise challenge and what I hope to accomplish in spite of the obstacle.

Enjoy the Journey!

CHICKEN SALAD

Finally getting to a point where I can at least post things on the days they are suppose to post... even if not early in the day. Baby steps here until the Texas Music Awards are over on Saturday and I can focus on EVERYTHING instead of one particular subject.

I've been picking up some recipes on Pinterest and found a Chicken Salad to modify to fit my tastes. The link takes you to my FOODIES Board, so you'll need to scroll til you come to the Chicken Salad recipe. It was uploaded by a user - not linked to a website.

What caught my attention was that offered Craisins as an added option. The local Memories Sweet Shoppe Cafe where I go to eat at least once a week makes the most amazing Chicken Salad on Croissant. Everything Cindy makes it from scratch. Soups, salads, sandwiches.... Yum! And she always tries to make sure there is at least a 'healthy' option on her menu. She is a retired line boat cook so she knows her way around a kitchen and how to satisfy hungry appetites.

So when I found this recipe on Pinterest I wanted to try it. I eliminated the pecans but added the Craisins.

Here's the recipe I came up with:

1 - 13 oz. can Shredded Chicken (I get the 3-pk cans from Sams Club)
1/2 - Gala Apple - cored and chopped
1/4 C Craisins
1/4 yellow onion - diced
1/4 C shredded Fiesta Cheese (I like the fiesta cheese for the blend but you can use whatever you like)
4 T Light Miracle Whip
2 tsp. minced garlic (or 1/4 tsp. garlic powder)
Seasoning Salt/ Fresh Ground Pepper

Drain the can of chicken and put it in a bowl.
Fork the chicken apart.
Add the Miracle Whip and mix. (You could also use plain yogurt or a blend of the two)
Next add the spices. (If you do this BEFORE adding the chunky ingredients you'll get a more even distribution of the seasonings.)
Also - I used Seasoning Salt because I didn't have any fresh CELERY... which I would have prefered for taste and texture. 
Add the fruits and mix. (I used an apple corer/ slicer for the apple but found I still wanted the sections narrower so sliced them again before chopping into chunks)

I served mine on a bed of Spring Greens and fresh spinach with ROMA tomato wedges. I used a full cup of the chicken salad as I've not eaten much today and probably the reason for my headache... that and too involved in my current Kindle read. hehe

I cored and chopped the entire apple but only put 1/2 of it in the salad. I can snack on the other 1/2 apple chunks while I'm working on here tonight.

Try this recipe and let me know what you think! Also.. I hope to add a PIN button in the next couple of days so if I post it here, feel free to PIN it.

Enjoy the Journey!
Kelly